BTEC physics Brief 3

Syed Afjal Ali 11T Science (BTEC) 28/04/12What is a wave?Transverse wave:A transverse wave consists of the trough which is the lowest point of the wave beneath the line oforigin. There is also the crest which is the highest point of the wave above the line of origin. Thewavelength of the transverse wave is the distance between two neighbouring troughs. Fortransverse waves the displacement of the medium is perpendicular to the direction of spread of thewave. This means that the waves will never come back to the middle and would go out in circles fromthe centre, equally spreading out. A clear example of this could be ripples from a river.Longitudinal wave:In longitudinal waves the displacement of the medium is parallel to the circulation of the wave. Awave in a "slinky" is a good visual as it portrays the steady continuous movement of the "slinky" coilswhich resemble waves. An example of longitudinal waves is sound waves in the air.

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Syed Afjal Ali 11T Science (BTEC) 28/04/12Sound as a longitudinal wave:Sound waves are produced due to the vibrating of an object through the atoms which also causes theair surrounding the object to vibrate. The wave lengths refract and compress which is the forming ofthe vibration. The basic properties of a sound wave include the wavelengthwhich is the distance between any point on a sound wave and also the equivalent point on the nextphase.…read more

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Syed Afjal Ali 11T Science (BTEC) 28/04/12 The frequency is another property of the sound wave and thisis the number of times the wavelength occurs in one second. This is usually measured in kilohertz(KHz). The frequency can be seen as the faster the sound source vibrates, the higher the frequency.Longitudinal waves need a medium in the form of products such as air particles, solids and liquids etc.…read more

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Syed Afjal Ali 11T Science (BTEC) 28/04/12Light as transverse waves: Light is a transverse wave purely becauseall electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, is transverse waves. In transverse the waves areseen to be vibrating at right angles to the direction of travel.…read more

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Syed Afjal Ali 11T Science (BTEC) 28/04/12Describe the electromagnetic spectrum: The electromagneticspectrum is the range of all possible electromagnetic radiation, such as radio, microwave, infrared,light, x-rays and gamma rays. The differences between the rays are determined through the lengthand style of the waves. A few examples of these differences are that radio waves have very largewavelengths in kilometers; microwaves have shorter wavelengths in centimeters; and ordinary lighthas wavelengths of nanometers.…read more